Don wins a copy of our 2016 Back Issue CD
SCREEN CAPTURE Capture screenshots on any Windows version
I’ve read about many screenshot programs in the pages of Computeractive. Most of these seem a little too complicated for me. The one I’ve been using for many years (from XP onwards) is a tiny tool called Mwsnap ( www.snipca.com/26321). Install and open it. Next, click ‘Any rect. Area’ on the left, then click the ‘Snap any area’ button at the bottom (see screenshot below).
Your PC screen will appear zoomed in (slightly larger) so you get a better view of things. Click and drag your cursor to select the area of your screen that you want to capture (this will open in Mwsnap). To save your file, click the File tab at the top left, ‘Save as’, change the ‘Save as type’ dropdown menu to PNG, then rename and save the screenshot on your PC. Hugh Rogers
SOUND PROBLEMS Restore audio to your PC
About four months ago, my 10year-old Dell desktop PC suddenly lost all sound. I carried out all the usual checks - checking cables, updating drivers and so on, but nothing worked. I even replaced the sound card and tried a USB plug-in sound card, to no avail.
Then a few days ago, I came across ‘Tweaking.com Windows Repair’ ( www.snipca.com/26322). I remembered reading about it in Computeractive, so I decided to try it.
Open the program, click the ‘Repairs - Main’ tab, then click the Open Repairs button. Next, tick Restart/shutdown System, then choose whether you want it to restart or shut down after the scan. Finally, click Start Repairs at the bottom (see screenshot above right).
The whole scan took about three hours, most of which appeared to be fixing registry errors and reorganising files on my drive. When I switched on my PC after the scan, my desktop screen came on, followed by Windows’ familiar ‘Ding Ding Ding Ding!’ welcome sound.
I had my audio back. So I have to thank
IOS Reach iphone apps at top of your screen more easily
I have short thumbs so I find it difficult to reach icons at the top of my iphone’s screen when using it with one hand. I recently discovered a useful feature (called Reachability) that shrinks your iphone screen and slides it toward the bottom, thereby giving you easier access to icons at the top. To use it, simply double-press the Home button. Repeat this action to return your screen to normal. Hugh Marshall